The present invention relates to a cookie dough dispenser that is particularly, but not exclusively, in the form of a so-called cookie gun.
Cookie dough dispensers are commonplace, which typically include a barrel for containing cookie dough and a piston within the barrel slidable forwards to press cookie dough contained therein out through a front nozzle or opening of the barrel. The barrel may be made of a transparent plastics material, or formed with a closed window, to reveal the position of the piston that in turn indicates the amount of cookie dough left in the barrel. In the former case, plastics is in general not a robust and/or elegant-looking material. Also, the piston and some of the other internal components are visible through the barrel wall, which may not be desired. In the latter case, leakage through the edge of the window is a potential problem.
The invention seeks to mitigate or at least alleviate such shortcomings and problems by providing an improved cookie dough dispenser.
According to the invention, there is provided a cookie dough dispenser comprising a barrel having opposite first and second ends and for containing cookie dough, a handle provided at the first end, an exit at the second end for cookie dough contained in the barrel, and a cookie dough dispensing mechanism including an operating member at the handle and a piston slidable within and along the axis of the barrel to dispense cookie dough from the barrel through the exit. The barrel includes an outer cylinder made of metal and an inner cylinder made of transparent or near-transparent plastic material located co-axially with and within the outer cylinder. The outer cylinder has a slot that is closed by an adjacent integral part of the inner cylinder acting as a lens, through which slot and lens the piston is viewable.
Preferably, the inner cylinder covers substantially the entire inner surface of the outer cylinder.
It is preferred that the lens expands in thickness outwards to occupy substantially the entire volume of space defined by the slot.
More preferably, the lens lies flush with the slot on the outer surface of the outer cylinder.
More preferably, the lens expands outwards beyond the outer surface of the slot and then laterally to form a periphery that covers at least a substantial part of a rim of the slot, the lens along the periphery engaging part of the rim.
In a first preferred embodiment, the inner cylinder is moulded onto the inner surface of the outer cylinder.
More preferably, the slot has opposite closed ends.
More preferably, adjacent the first end of the barrel, the wall of the outer cylinder is deformed slightly outwards at equiangular positions at protrusions acting as screw threads for connecting the handle. The reverse side of the protrusions are indentations on the inner surface of the outer cylinder, which the material of the inner cylinder engages.
More preferably, adjacent the second end of the barrel, the wall of the outer cylinder is deformed slightly outwards at equiangular positions at protrusions acting as screw threads for connecting a member including the exit. The reverse side of the protrusions are indentations on the inner surface of the outer cylinder, which the material of the inner cylinder engages.
In a second preferred embodiment, the inner cylinder is moulded into shape independently and then subsequently inserted co-axially into the outer cylinder as a sliding snug fit.
More preferably, the slot has an open end and an opposite closed end.
More preferably, adjacent the first end of the barrel, the wall of the outer cylinder is deformed slightly outwards at equiangular positions to form protrusions acting as screw threads for connecting the handle.
More preferably, adjacent the second end of the barrel, the wall of the outer cylinder is deformed slightly outwards at equiangular protrusions providing screw threads for connecting a member including the exit.
It is preferred that the handle is in the form of a pistol handgrip and the operating member comprises a pull trigger.
In a specific construction, the dispensing mechanism includes a ratchet rack having one end supporting the piston for sliding along the barrel and a ratchet member operable by the operating member to advance the rack and hence the piston in a stepwise manner to dispense cookie dough.